Is Labour's Total Collapse Coming?

Henry Zeffman and Kevan James

September 5, 2025

A devastating end for Rayner and a long list of unanswered questions for Starmer.

Having overcome a difficult upbringing and personal adversity to climb the heights of the Labour Party and become only its second ever deputy prime minister, it has all come to a premature end within just 14 months of government.

It has pretty devastating implications for Keir Starmer too. Right now there is a long list of unanswered questions.

When will a deputy leadership election take place? Who will stand? Will a candidate who wants to force the government into a more left-wing position make it onto the ballot paper?

Or, as some believe the Labour rulebook permits, could the cabinet designate an interim deputy leader from among their number who would, in time, be anointed permanently?

Would Starmer commit to appointing a new deputy leader to the position of deputy prime minister as well? Would any new deputy leader want that, or would they rather establish a new powerbase on the backbenches?

Could Starmer even revisit Jeremy Corbyn’s attempt to abolish the deputy leadership? That was mooted to me by one insider this morning, acknowledging that it would be a terrible look but musing on whether it might be a less terrible option than the others.

Who will be the new housing secretary, responsible for delivering one of the government’s most ambitious and important policy commitments, on housebuilding?

Will the prime minister use this as an opportunity to carry out a much wider shakeup of his cabinet and ministerial team, or will he want to minimise the political drama?

We’ll begin to find out the answers to some of these questions over the coming hours and days. Other questions - such as the impact on the government’s popularity of its housing secretary being forced to resign for having underpaid tax on a home - will take longer to answer.

Safe to say this isn’t how “phase two” of Starmer’s government was meant to begin.

© Henry Zeffman 2025 / BBC

Rayner's Fall Is Not A Surprise

Kevan James

Angela Rayner's resignation this morning was inevitable and leaves me wondering how many more will go, either because the Prime Minister sacks them or they go of their own accord - for whatever reason.

I'm sure there are plenty of previous examples where a government has lost members of its cabinet due to misconduct of some kind but off the top of my head, I can't recall one that has lost so many in such a short time.

They were elected (by a minority of the voting population, despite the number of MPs they gained) only fourteen months ago! It is quite extraordinary.

I have frequently suggested that if...IF, mind...this version of Labour survives until 2029, they will make up some spurious reason to 'postpone' the general election due that year. They will keep on postponing it in order to reset the UK into a one-party state.

The only way to stop that is if this government collapses in disarray (other than an outright revolution and I don't think that is a good idea).

I can see that collapse coming.

© Kevan James 2025

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